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Nets slip past Hawks

Nov 15, 2008 - 4:19 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Devin Harris, Vince Carter and Brook Lopez combined for 81 points as the New Jersey Nets downed the Atlanta Hawks, 115-108, on Friday.

Harris scored 30 points, Carter added 26, and Lopez, who started for Josh Boone, netted 25 for New Jersey. Rookie Ryan Anderson added 15.

The game was tight throughout before the Nets used a 42-34 advantage over the final 12 minutes to post the victory.

Harris, who had been sidelined for three games with a sprained left ankle, went off in the second half. With the Nets trailing, 84-82, Harris hit two key 3-pointers to make it 88-84 and New Jersey never looked back.

"I thought he had a great burst. I thought that group, with that 2 1/2-minute stretch in the fourth quarter with Vince out, did a really good job of keeping that game going and putting us in a position where down the stretch we were going to make enough plays to win," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said.

Harris had 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

"It says he's got some grit. Against Detroit, he hurt that ankle in the third quarter with a 1:30 and change to go, and he fought his tail through it," Frank said. "It shows what he's got inside of him. Devin's a competitor and he continues to keep growing. It was fun to watch him play tonight."

Joe Johnson scored 32 points for Atlanta, which lost its second straight after opening the season 6-0. Marvin Williams and Flip Murray added 21 apiece.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson was not happy with his team's effort early.

"I thought we were very lethargic to start the game," Woodson said. "We let Lopez establish himself down low. He got going and was a load and we couldn't control him or the kid Anderson. Those were two guys we weren't counting on to come out and play big like they did.

"You have to give them credit because Coach Frank had them ready and we just didn't get it done tonight. They were ready right from the start. It was an uphill climb for us. They made the plays and hit big shots down the stretch and we had no answer for it."

The first half proved to be a battle between Lopez, the Nets' top draft pick, and Williams of the Hawks. Lopez scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Williams added 17 on 6-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, as Atlanta led 50-49 at the break.

"I thought Brook was great. He set a great tone right from the beginning," Frank said. "A combination of post-ups, offensive rebounds, rolls, very very aggressive, very very assertive, very very determined. Both rookies were tremendous. Both he and Ryan played tremendously."

Carter concurred.

"Well, they grew up, both Brook and Ryan came ready to play, and they played their own games, and learned from their mistakes," Carter said. "I was very proud of the way that they played today against a tough team."